I've spent four-and-a-half years, almost
five now, down the Amazon, and God has
worked, has blessed their efforts.
I know it's been a hard and difficult
and trying time for us.
I feel that Tom is getting more to
do than maybe he should, because my idea
about missionary work has always been different from
most people.
I can see it easily like this.
When Paul went out, he certainly didn't go
alone.
It's just the doctor Luke with him, who
stayed with him right through the whole journey.
And Timothy, and Silas, and a few others,
Dr. Thornton and some others, and there was
a whole team to do the job.
And I'm sure this is how it should
be done.
You need a team.
Tom would need some to help him to
do work with bold huts and bold pretzels,
some to write letters, some to do lots
of things.
There's a team work to be done there,
and a good man and his wife are
holding out on their own.
It's much easier to stay at home, make
more money.
But perhaps it is because they feel that
the Lord wants them, and has sent them
there.
Now, this is frank offering night in our
Bible class.
I spend more hours than you think digging
out the food for you.
And once a year we say, thank you
for the Lord, in a tangible way.
And the office-bearers in this place allow
me to do what I like with the
offerings.
Last year I gave it to our Sunday
school.
Sometimes I give it to the orphan.
Tonight I'm giving it to the doctor and
his wife.
I don't only want it to be a
frank offering night.
I want it to be a special offering
for the work.
John the Ambulance.
You don't know exactly just how hard push
the doctor is at times.
He's got about 50,000 people scattered over
a great area of land.
Tells me that sometimes a fellow coming to
see him has come for 30 days through
the forest, through the rivers, through the swamps,
looking for the doctor.
He's not in any good state when he
arrives, remember.
The job's bigger than I could tell you.
It's bigger than the doctor would want to
tell you.
But I think you know that we need
to approach things at times.
The doctor's going away in a short time
and we won't see him maybe for the
next five years.
And the Lord may well have come.
This may be the last time.
And it would be to do with the
work of the Lord.
I feel that there's a crowd here leaving
out the old age pensioners on the one
side and leaving out the young people going
to school and the newlyweds.
They've got no money.
She knows all about it.
There's a crowd in the middle somewhere.
And I'm sure somebody over there has got
a five pound note apiece.
You'd never miss it.
I don't think that's good news to Lord,
of course.
I think you should really stick it up
for Christmas.
Try it and see now.
Stick it up for Christmas.
There was a young student there coming and
giving her daddy a couple of pounds.
She saved it up for Christmas.
I wonder how the Lord would measure it
all.
This fellow came to me tonight and gave
me twelve bucks.
He was part of the business.
I mean business.
Tom and Ethel both came prepared to speak
tonight.
And we had this conference in there.
Ethel was in the chair.
Tom said she was the boss.
But we had noticed that Tom was speaking
at this meeting.
And Ethel was coming to watch my service.
And I heard from someone, I don't want
to say who it was, that there was
a whole week of meetings at Cook Hill
recently and that Ethel was the best preacher
all week.
She was Tom's jealous, but it doesn't matter.
So I said, she being the better preacher,
we would keep her to watch my service.
So I'll be here, and the rich and
two sisters, and Ethel at the watch my
service.
Great joy for us to have Tom.
He's a great character.
May the Lord bless him.
Come to speak to you now.
I think it's very difficult knowing just what
to say after Mr. Mullins paints a picture
like only he can.
I was reminded there, as I sat, of
a story told of an old farmer who
was trying to drive a cow down a
road.
And every time it came to the gates
into the field, it kept running past.
And a motorist was there.
And he stopped the motorist and he said,
would you sit here in your chair?
So now bring that cow down to the
gate.
I want you to toot your horn.
And it will run in.
So he went and got the old car
again and started off.
When he came to the gate where the
car was supposed to go through, he gave
the signal and the motorist tooted the horn.
And the old car jumped over the hedge
and fell down and broke it on the
other side.
The farmer, being very angry, rushed up to
the motorist and he gave off.
When he had paused for breath, the motorist
said, but didn't you tell me to do
that?
Ah, you see, it was an awful big
toot for such a weak cow.
Seriously, it's a pleasure to be and a
privilege to be here in Bergen Baptist Church
once more and to share with you something
of what God has been doing and what
we believe God is going to continue to
do.
Could I read just a few verses?
They're found in Mark's Gospel, chapter 13, verse
34.
The Son of Man is as a man
taking up our journey to let this house
and give authority to his servants and to
every man his work and commanded the porter
to watch.
Watch me, therefore, for ye know not when
the master of the house cometh at even
or at midnight or at the cock crowing
or at once lest coming suddenly he find
you sleeping.
And what I say unto you, I say
unto all.
Watch.
I think in many ways we have in
these few verses a picture of missionary work
today.
Some people are inclined to think that missionary
work is a rather romantic idea of one
or two people going into the far-flung
corners of the world and preaching the gospel
and that's the end of it.
But I would agree with Mr. Mullen that
missionary work is something different.
It's a teamwork.
These words have been coming to me time
and again in connection with missionary work today.
To every man his work.
You know, everyone can't just go out on
a tour up the Amazon River I believe
that God has for every one of us
a work.
And first of all, I would say that
in this picture of these verses as a
picture of missionary work we would see the
master's preparation.
You know, this noble man, he was going
away for a long-ish time and he
wanted to leave someone to continue with the
work that he had in hand.
And I think as he prepared for this
journey he began to select ones and twos
here and there to continue with the work
while he was away.
I'm sure he went down to the slave
market would look around the slave market and
here he would pick one and there he
would pick another and he'd bring them into
his household and array them in the dress
of his household.
He made preparation by choosing people.
You know, when the master was going away
and he's away now, I believe he has
made preparation.
I believe he has chosen out of this
world the ones and the twos to continue
his work.
And we who are Christians are part of
the master's plan.
But not only have we the master's preparation
preparing the way and choosing out the people,
we also have the master's delegation.
I think as the master was going away
he would point to one and say I
want you to look after the garden.
To another he would say I want you
to be responsible for the kitchen.
I want you to work in the fields.
I want you to look after the business
side of my affairs.
He really didn't give them authority and these
words to every man who works.
You know, each one had a different part
to play in the master's great plan.
And I believe that's the way it is
in missionary work today.
Each one, each member of the Church of
God has a part to play in the
master's work.
I can't do your work.
You can't do my work.
And God doesn't ask us to.
God just asks us to do the work
that he gives us to do.
You may be wondering what our work is
out in the field in Brazil.
Well, as Mr. Moan said, for the last
five years we've been working on the rehospices
of the Afri Gospel Mission.
I'm sure they've been known to most of
you.
A small interdenominational mission founded in 1937 when
Mr. and Mrs. McComb with Molly Harvey went
up into the Afri territory of Brazil for
the first time with the Gospel of Jesus
Christ.
Now, the Afri territory is something approximately the
size of Ireland.
It's right in the interior of Brazil.
The climate and the isolation and the disease
has earned it the name among the Brazilians
as the Green Hell.
And very few Brazilians want to know anything
about this Green Hell.
But it was into this place that God
led Mr. and Mrs. McComb and then prospered
that mission.
Today there are, well, there are 19 missionaries
working either in Afri or along the Amazon
Valley scattered over a vast area.
While we were in Rio Branco the governor
of the Afri territory, we were there trying
to learn the language, the governor of the
Afri territory invited us to go to a
town called Caruacá to do medical work.
We wondered if this was our work that
the Master had for us.
You know we realized that the medical work
would take a lot of time and take
a lot of energy.
And after all, we had come out to
preach the Gospel.
That's what we should be concentrating on.
And as we sought God's faith, and asked
God what his work would be for us
he spoke to us through a verse in
Luke's Gospel chapter 10.
Heal the sick that are therein and say
unto them the kingdom of God is come
nigh unto you.
Now God brought us to see that our
work was to be a twofold work.
It was to be a work of healing
and a work of proclaiming the Gospel of
Jesus Christ as well.
I would stress the emphasis to every man
his work.
You know some might be tempted to say,
well that exempts me from ever being a
missionary.
I can't I'm not a doctor, I'm not
a nurse.
If God has a job for you on
the mission field, you have the qualifications that
God wants for that job.
But as we sought God's faith, what it
was for us it became clear that it
was medical work and missionary work.
Do you remember the story of the ten
lepers?
It taught us that Jesus Christ wasn't only
interested in men's souls.
He was, thank God.
But he was interested in men as men.
He healed ten lepers yet only one returned
to give thanks.
And so we went in to Tarawahtar because
we felt it was God's will for us
to go.
The first six months were spent doing exclusively
medical work and getting to know the people.
The medical work there and that was a
very little part of our task was pretty
time consumed.
Mr. Mullins said there were some 50,000
people depending on our town as the nearest
point of help when they were ill.
Our town itself has a population of about
3,000 but scattered throughout the forest at
vast distances are another 30,000 people and
then the neighboring town 18 hours away by
foot where there are no roads there at
all by foot or by river or by
airplane they have another 20,000 scattered throughout
there earlier.
These 50,000 people were depending on Tarawahtar
as the nearest place they could find if
illness came.
Some of them have come a long way
I remember that man who journeyed for 30
days in a canoe just to reach somewhere
where he could have treatment.
I remember one woman who walked for 10
days through the forest had some treatment and
then set out to walk 10 days home
again.
If you're tempted to complain, if you happen
to wait in the doctor's surgery think of
those who have to wait for days, yes
for weeks, before they could even reach anywhere
where they might find some help.
The hospital in Tarawahtar was a pretty primitive
affair this crude wooden building there's only 16
beds and 6 cots When we went there
there were no instruments in the hospital the
previous doctor who had left 6 years before
had stolen them all At times there were
no sheets even to go on the bed
and should the night get chilly well there
were no blankets for the patients and on
more than one occasion we had to dip
into the barrel and those blankets that the
ladies had knitted here were sent down to
the hospital and there they were used to
bring comfort to those who had so little
At times there wasn't even food in the
hospital to feed the patients on more than
one occasion you had to send food down
because the child was crying with hunger and
there was nothing for it to eat There's
no such thing as a National Health Service
There's no such thing as National Assistance There's
no such thing as Social Services The people
who really suffer and suffer a lot One
man I remember was blocked for 22 days
having been bitten by a poisonous snake and
his arm was in a terrible state The
doctor who had the arm amputated that man
smiled even though he was left a cripple
He said, I haven't felt so comfortable for
three weeks You see that was part of
our work, the medical work, and the service
acceptance with the people But there was another
side The Lord's word to us wasn't only
to heal the sick but it was also
to say unto them The Kingdom of God
has come nigh unto you The spiritual side
of the work began in a very small
way After about six months when we were
in Tawakkar Air Force together with Audrey Maxwell
they began a women's meeting and the women
folks they went around the houses inviting the
women to come along The women folks said
yes, we'll come but what sort of a
religion is this that we couldn't bring our
husbands So the women's meeting became a general
meeting Then they began children's meeting and while
with 50% of the population of Brazil
under 15 years of age there was no
problem with getting children for a children's meeting
Then when Victor Maxwell was up with us
we were still travelling with the rail placed
up as far as the language was concerned
we felt that the Lord's time had come
to begin some gospel meetings general gospel meetings
and so for a week every night Victor
preached the gospel of Jesus Christ in a
little house that had been extended to make
it into a church right from the word
go the Lord blessed the very first night
two or three accepted Jesus Christ as their
Savior and the Lord continued to bless over
the course of that first year we were
able then to start a prayer meeting during
the week for the believers we were able
to gather the believers together on a Sunday
morning at 8 o'clock there we start
off with the breaking of bread service then
we have a teaching service afterwards to try
and teach them more of the word of
God then in the evening there's the gospel
service during the week there's a children's meeting
another meeting a gospel meeting it was the
women's meeting but it's rapidly developed into a
general meeting there's also the prayer meeting when
the believers who have learned to pray really
pour their hearts out in prayer to God
there's one prayer meeting in my life that
stands out above all others and it was
in that little little church in Tarawatha Ethel
and I were feeling very despondent and downcast
some people think that missionaries are super saints
they've got a gold plated pillow on their
heads and they're quite immune to feelings of
despondency or homesickness so both of us were
homesick both of us were fed up with
the heat both of us were disappointed because
some who had professed faith were no longer
walking with the Lord we were just longing
to get away from it all it was
prayer meeting night we didn't want to go
but we were the missionaries therefore we had
to go during the course of this prayer
meeting a dear Brazilian woman who had come
to know the Lord she had come in
to visit the town she had walked through
the forest and she took the opportunity to
really meet and have fellowship with the saints
and as that woman got up in the
prayer meeting and poured her heart out to
God in praise and worship and thanksgiving forever
having sent missionaries to tell her of Jesus
Christ it was as though the Lord himself
stepped into the meeting and lifted it to
a new height as I say God blessed
the meetings there in the first year we
were to extend the little church three times
and when we left it was capable of
seating 170 people and in the loosened letter
from Victor Maxwell he says we have to
extend it yet again for it hasn't room
to put all the people that want to
come to the meetings you see in Brazil
there in the interior, not so much in
the big cities, but in the interior there's
a real hunger for the word of God
the people are nominally Roman Catholics but their
religion means nothing to them, they have a
hunger in their heart for something real, but
when they hear of Jesus Christ, oh they
know of him as the son of Mary
but when they hear of him as the
saviour who can save them and give them
the assurance of eternal life so many of
them want this saviour as their saviour just
before we left it was a privilege of
seeing a small church founded with over 50
members and there it is today to the
glory of God time doesn't permit me to
tell of all or even a few of
those who have come to know the Lord
but when we see such things as a
mother of eight wading waist deep through flood
water just to be at the morning service
it makes one wonder at what sort of
Christians we are just since we came home
we heard of an old man, 83 years
of age he was only one leg the
other had to be amputated because of snakebite,
and yet this old man who was 82
years of age found the saviour and then
was baptised and became a member of the
church and on his one leg and crutch
he hobbled through two and a half feet
of flood water with a fair pair of
trousers under his arm to change in the
little room at the back of the church
just to be at the morning service to
remember the Lord and to learn more of
Jesus Christ it really thrills one's heart to
see an old man of 84 years of
age who all his life had been worshipping
images and saints to see him praying for
hours over his bible to learn more of
this salvation that he had found at the
eventide of his life then when he comes
and says I want another bible because I've
been telling an old friend of mine up
there about this salvation and I want him
to read about it for himself my it
makes one realise that God is in this
thing I think our most dramatic experience in
Tarawa-ka was with a young lad of
16 years of age he came into town
having lived 10 days up river enjoying a
party with a lot of drinks taken this
lad had been involved in a fight and
had been nice in the church and he
had been very old for days and even
6 months after the accident or the incident
this young lad wasn't feeling well and he
came down to Tarawa-ka for 10 days
journey to see if he could find some
help for his health it was obvious that
one of his lungs wasn't functioning properly we
did the best we could for him but
a few weeks later he became more ill
but during this interval he had started attending
the services at the church and after listening
to the gospel for probably 2 or 3
times at the most this young fellow waited
behind and he said he wanted to be
a Christian we pointed him to the Lord
and that night he accepted Jesus Christ as
his Saviour and over the next few weeks
while he was still in town awaiting our
under treatment he began to attend the meetings
and show a tremendous interest he began to
ask questions wanted to learn more there's no
x-ray machine in the hospital one's very
much in the dark at times because there's
no laboratory this young lad took very ill
on a Sunday and they sent for us,
we put him into the hospital and in
spite of all we could do for him
his condition was getting worse I remember well
on the Thursday morning going in as I
looked into the ward very late it was
obvious that the lad was nearing the end
of his earthly journey at 16 years of
age I went over to the side of
his bed and I said to him Erasmus
how are you?
he just said still so I looked at
him I said tell me Erasmus are you
afraid?
that young fellow smiled weakly and said no
sir I'm not afraid I was able to
tell him that the Jesus Christ that he
had accepted as his own personal saviour was
the Jesus Christ who had promised never to
leave him and never forsake him and that
Jesus would always be beside him he nodded
his head and I had to leave but
one time when I went back the Roman
Catholic nurse told me what happened she said
at midday Erasmus asked for a drink she
says there I brought him a glass of
water and reached it to him he just
looked up to the ceiling and said alright
I'm coming he went to be with the
master that he had found so recently you
know it was an easy thing to take
the funeral service the next day it was
an easy thing to face those people and
tell them that this young fellow had gone
into eternity with the sure and certain hope
that he would be with Jesus who was
his saviour and after that funeral service a
man who was visiting in the town came
along to our house he said could you
tell me a bible?
we told him a bible he disappeared and
three months later at the end of one
of the services in the church a man
came up to me and he said I
want to be a Christian tonight and I
asked him I said have you ever been
in services before?
he said I was in town the time
that young man died he said I'm the
man that bought the bible he said I
have been reading it every day since and
I know that this is the truth he
said now I want it for myself that
is what God has been doing do you
know I would underline again to every man
his worth this is a master's delegation one
may chant it was given to us the
privilege to go into that place and chant
the feast it was given to others the
privilege to water with their prayers and I
know that many here in this meeting have
watered that feed with their prayers and many
others throughout the country tonight we can come
together and rejoice and give God the glory
for while one may chant and another may
water only God can give the increase master's
preparation the master's delegation to every man his
worth you have your worth I have my
worth then we have the master's exhortation he
said watch me therefore less coming suddenly he
finds he is sleeping you know what the
master was saying every one of you have
got a job to do don't lie down
on the job don't go to sleep at
your work do the job that I have
given you God has given to us the
job of going back to Brazil to continue
the work that was started in Carvata I
believe that God has given to many people
here the job of praying the Lord of
the harvest to force more laborers into his
harvest it may be that God has given
to some of you the job of going
but the great need in Brazil today is
the need for more missionaries, more people to
tell of Jesus Christ we get more invitations
to have meetings in homes than we can
possibly accept the people want to hear I
wonder what God has given you to do
let's all take to heart the master's exhortation
don't lie down on the job we would
value your prayers as we go back you
know it's very possible for a missionary on
the mission field to lie down on the
job, to take it easy not to do
what we ought to be doing we value
your prayers it's very easy for a Christian
at home not to pray as they ought
to pray to lie down on the job
let's take to heart the master's exhortation don't
lie down on the job and then when
he comes we'll meet him and praise him
may we all hear those words from Biblis
faithful I'm
sure that all of us here will take
Tom and his dear wife to heart more
than we've ever done before and I can
stand before the Lord here tonight and say
that their names have been mentioned every day
and that doesn't mean only Sunday that means
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday by
me if I've done nothing else I've prayed
faithfully for all who have gone from this
place you know I'm into my 19th year
here you would hardly believe that so that
you know that when I came here both
Tom and Ethel were young folks the joy
of watching them growing up and the Lord
equipped them then for the job many times
Tom and I talked over a little problem
and eventually a mix was reached he needs
no repair that's one thing that's sure you
should make a date with the Lord now
don't break it pray for them every day,
that's most important it isn't all mixed, crazy
no it's remembering faithfully for the Lord it's
monitor on the Lord's work you see to
it that they get what they need we're
turning to 1 Peter just now and we're
at the 4th chapter please 1 Peter chapter
4 and I think the Lord has worked
it out very carefully indeed as he always
does it's provision in timing when the Lord's
on the job that we should be looking
at 4 verses this evening 1 Peter chapter
4 verses 8, 9, 10, 11 and we'll
read them through together Peter is writing to
these saints in these assemblies and they're not
just assemblies scattered throughout Asia and he's saying
to them and above all things have self
and charity among yourselves for charity shall cover
the multitude of things use hospitality one to
another without grudging as every man hath received
the gift even to minister the same one
to another a good steward of the manifold
grace of God if any man speak let
him speak of the oracles of God if
any man minister let him do it out
of the ability which God gives that God
in all things may be glorified through Jesus
Christ to whom be praise and to many
forever and ever amen Peter is underlining several
things here that people in assemblies need to
attend to and he's underlining these things that
God in all things may be glorified through
Jesus Christ just trying to get the assembly
into tuning with God and that God in
all these things that he underlines may be
glorified through Jesus Christ you see he's underlining
things like charity that's what it says and
above all things look stop just there somebody
came to argue with me once and said
there were contradictions in this book and I
said I've never found one yet and this
chap said well you remember Peter saying above
all things how fervent love the word is
that's the old Greek word and it's the
word love how fervent love among yourself I
said yes I remember that he said Peter
put love above all things would you remember
when Paul was writing in Ephesians have a
look at that that's Ephesians chapter 6 that
Paul said verse 13 therefore to come to
you the whole armor of God that you
may be able to withstand in the evil
day and having done all to stand and
therefore having your loins dressed about with truth
having on the breastplate of righteousness and your
feet shod with the preparation of the gospel
of peace above all looking to see the
face he said it seems that Paul thinks
faith should be above all and that Peter
thinks love should be above all and surely
that's the contribution and then he turned to
a narration and it's Thessalonians first Thessalonians and
watch this one very carefully and it's chapter
5 Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians chapter
5 and speaking to these Thessalonian converts he
said on both sides you are all children
of light and the children of the day
you are not of the night nor of
darkness therefore let us not think as do
others but let us watch and be sober
so that it sleeps in the night and
so that the drunken are drunken in the
night but let us who are of the
day be sober putting on the dress of
faith and love and put on helmets the
helmet of salvation because you think that faith
tends to it and above faith and above
love is placing this for the helmet is
above all I said I don't see any
contradictions I think because you're spiritually blind you
think there are contradictions I said you know
if you look the passage in Peter very
carefully you will find this now look at
it again 1st Peter 4 Peter's talking to
believers in assemblies and he's saying above all
things have servant shall it be for what's
the good among themselves and it's the same
in the next verse as every man hath
received a good even so minister to it
watch it one to another and it's the
same in the passage right through this evening
you know these are saints in an assemblies
is what they are of the thing that
should be above everything else in the assemblies
is heaven above among ourselves there is no
trouble I said in Paul's talking you know
he's talking about the soldier at the warfare
for God because you know when you could
change you're not only a saint and should
be in the assembly other you're a soldier
in the battle and the thing for the
soldier is truth above all he's talking about
armor he's not talking about saints in the
assemblies he's talking about the armor for the
warrior on the battlefield he put on the
whole armor and he says above all the
shield of faith and of course when we
go to first Thessalonians chapter 5 it's not
so much the saint as it's the son
it's the child of God the children of
the God yes we're the sons of God
and the moment you become a son of
God you can begin to go return to
God's reminders he used to stop and say
return that is your salvation to serve the
living and true God he said to serve
that your occupation to work for his son
from heaven that's your expectation for every child
in your family and it's the hope and
it's the grace of God and the last
chance is above all when it's the saint
in the assembly it is God that is
above all when it's the soldier in the
battle it is faith that is above all
when it's the son in the family it
is faith that is above all and it
was just a spiritual blindness that made him
think that there were contradictions but let's get
back to Christ Peter now I want you
to watch this very carefully he said above
all things have seven love among yourselves so
now shall cover the multitude of things you
know the assembly sometimes meets with difficulty you
know when I was the pastor of the
older he came to me one morning we
were having group meetings at the time and
crowded out and the deacons were having quite
a job getting people seats like we have
here sometimes and she said I don't like
the way the deacons put men into the
seats what are they doing on there he
said so and so he just nods his
head his eyes stops and turns and you
go on like a car into the bar
you know I felt like saying to her
you know if you had a little bit
of fervent love for the deacons you would
find less fault cause even if it was
a little bit rude in his manner which
might well have been she could have covered
it with love that's what Peter thought of
and that was quite a shame to me
he said you know Mr. Stone thought this
was a maternity thing well I don't like
the way he says our father he just
says our father we come to thee and
our father we are laying our wants before
thee and our father I'm disturbed you've used
the word our father all the time well
you see he might be a little bit
timid or he might be nervous and this
is the only way the poor fellow could
really pray and while he was allowed to
pray our father he could get on with
it but if the man that had come
to me had had a little bit of
love for the fellow that was praying he
wouldn't have found so many faults he would
have covered them with love it's a great
little message for an assembly and I tell
you if we had a little bit more
of fervent love among ourselves it would be
less trouble with these so called faults you
could cover them it's not talking about covering
things there are little things in the assembly
where you could everybody criticizes me for showing
them well I show them that's right one
of our dear members had a little boy
with her the other morning he just swore
the fire and when he went home he
said mommy the priest didn't show too much
this morning it gets a bit bigger after
each speech yes well
you know a little bit of fervent love
would cover up a whole lot of things
wouldn't it you know William Gilbert who was
one of the great characters the Lord prayed
I met him one Sunday afternoon just after
the morning meeting I used to go to
the morning meeting with him and he said
to me I have a rare time this
morning I said what happened he said they
come down the road with old Alex Shaw
do you know Alex Shaw I said yes
oh well he said you know he began
evil speaking and backbiting against George Matthews you
know who George Matthews is he said he
tore old George to pieces he said I
walked down the whole road and I listened
and I said I wish to know just
let him live on and he said the
more hope I gave him the more he
gave George Matthews he said I made sure
that when I was leaving the morning meeting
I would walk home with George Matthews and
he said I hadn't gone to any other
he started on Alex Shaw and he said
did you give Alex Shaw as much as
Alex Shaw did you then and I let
him go on till I was happy with
it and I said George you know all
that you have said about Alex coming up
the road yes well he said that a
bit you can burn the door down and
I said I will burn the door down
if there was just a little bit more
of real servant love in the assembly so
we could cover it up quite well no
better ever trying to cover scarlet fence we
have taught how to deal with that Paul
said put that man out from among you
there is no question this is in the
assembly when people want to assemble to love
one another that God may be glorified and
they may be left out or some fellow
may not walk where they do walk or
do this where they do this how they
love them we have a whole lot of
trouble I would have less trouble in this
assembly if the loved one had done it
properly I wouldn't need the standing between them
they could cover it and then he comes
from charity to help totality did you notice
that it's a huge host totality one to
another without grudging and the word grudging there
is an old Greek word and it could
be without murmuring and I think it has
the sense of this word without murmuring and
without grudging I think I told you about
having my tea one afternoon with a lady
in a great big fashionable lounge and we
were sitting together it was going very well
when we got up and there was another
lady coming up and she said let me
look at it she made me look at
it I couldn't get her in at first
she said look at your mother and then
she went to the door and she said
oh hello lady the hypocrite god
hypocrite yes all right that's it you get
that sort of thing you know don't you
you get that continual you know I was
in a big home one evening where there
were about a dozen different geeks who had
been all up this was in the far
away and one of the geeks said let's
talk about experiences in homes we've all lived
in different homes we must have all had
different experiences well I've had some experiences I
can tell you I went to have a
mission once in the heart of the country
and I'm not telling you where it is
it's rather a story but an old farmer
kept me and he put me into a
big room almost as big as our annex
it was in the hottest winter all the
coldest weather you could ever think about no
power none whatsoever I had to get the
big coat on every morning and the muffler
and I had to walk round and round
the room keeping myself warm he talked about
studying he could hardly breathe never mind studying
and I remember going to Glasgow and they
put me into a hotel with the three
boys of the trio, the four of us
and there wasn't a wee bit of a
pocket on the bed no clothes at all
so I had an old I didn't care
too much about whether I slept in the
suit or not the ceiling was my good
suit on and bed and the other boy
in the plane who was quite a lad
you'll see him here one of these days
he said to me I'm not going to
freeze here so there was a beautiful Persian
carpet on the floor and he gestured the
bed and he took it off the floor
every night, doubled it up twice oh he
was doing fine the other two boys had
to sleep together and I can remember seeing
some Scot with a he was trembling, he
was shivering with cold he was trying to
be nice, he said it's a bit at
the end of your ignorance this
is what you call hospitality now one of
the fellows at the car for a while
he told this fellow he went to preach
to the church for two weeks he went
to preach for three weeks he said you
know the food they serve is absolutely wonderful
morning, night and midnight is fed on the
very bed and I said to myself well
you landed here alright, you're alright here he
said I was in the home one week
after the three weeks when I got a
bill from the two people for twelve pound
a week just in time for your food
and he sent it off the next morning
this is what you call hospitality see what
people mean we need to have a little
bit of love among ourselves in the assembly
and we need to have a bit of
hope to tell it the truth and then
he said something that Tom was underlining and
I was very glad he did so every
man is rich and he is rich says
every man of every man heart receives the
gift you know there's no use you saying
that you have no gift may well be
that you are not a gifted teacher and
you couldn't do what I'm doing every week
for nineteen years and God's not accepting you
too if he didn't give you the gift,
I'm responsible for the gifts he gives me
and may be that you couldn't do nor
I couldn't do what God is doing or
others do and that God hasn't gifted you
and sent you is not our thing but
there's no doubt that there's something you can
do you can't tell me that you're in
the body of Christ and there's nothing for
you to do there are no paralysed men
built in the body of Christ that I
know of and that little thing may be
an insignificant little thing but there are times
when I need it and it takes off
and God has gifted you to do something
or you may be just one of the
helpers in the body of Christ maybe there's
a way that you can help we were
talking about Esther she makes these clothes for
the little girls that pass herself and probably
taking some with them at this time I
know she's got a lot ready very much
and what they've been used to the Lord
this is you know there can be a
great pleasure to the children in the house
and if it talks them to the meeting
of the gospel I wonder what you're doing
for the church of Jesus Christ I wonder
what they're doing you know there is not
only this charity and this hospitality and this
ministry but I want you to get the
hold of this I want you to get
that there's a responsibility on the children you
know when the Lord gave out the talent
he didn't give them all out the same
he gave one man five he's got five
he gave another man two he gave another
man one now they hadn't all the same
ability no, no, no, no all of them
had the same responsibility but that's the work
of what God gave them God gave Peter
who wrote this is for sure, he made
him an apostle and he was the great
apostle to the Jews yes, but he was
also a prophet in the New Testament church,
many times he preached before the New Testament
was formed of course he was a great
evangelist three thousand were saved at the day
of Pentecost now I'll tell you this he
was one of the great pastors of the
flock Jesus said to him save my sheep,
save my land I'll tell you this the
man that reads these two letters of his
personally will know without the shadow of a
doubt he was a great preacher in the
church because of all these talents that the
Lord gave him how did he be responsible
for every one of them how did the
man agree that the Lord only gave him
one thing where was he responsible, you know
oh, you're a steward of the man I
say, grace of God because if you have
any ability at all, it comes from the
grace of God look, I want you to
get this into your mind into this charity
and hospitality and ministry and responsibility now I
want you to get this a bit, what's
this if any man speaks, let him speak
of the oracles of God do you know
that's what you call a sanitary you know
what speaking of the oracles of God means
it means speaking of the mouthpiece of God
that's what it means that's why I try
to tell all the young fellows when they're
preaching to preach the word for any church
preach the word and I was so pleased
to see Tom take that little readings of
that bit by bit through that whole thing
of preaching the word learn to do it
you have no authority beyond it James McKendry
took me aside when I was a young
fellow said, will you go out preaching I
said, yes he said, I'll show you how
to preach always have this before you a
picture on the wall and the whole structure
of the picture the picture itself that should
be the word of God coming from you
and the theme on the picture look at
that little if possible that's your word and
if we would only learn to preach the
word and have very little of our own
around us maybe people would think that sometimes
the flame is that big with our own
importance that the truth is not seen let's
say this is authority and he said this
he said, if any man let him speak
as the oracles of God if any man
ministers let him do it out of an
ability which God gives us and this word
minister is another special one, it's a Greek
word and you can look it up when
you go home in a Greek lexicon and
it means to serve it means to serve,
that's what it means it's not talking about
preaching, he's been talking about preaching already when
he says if any man speaks and he
was very careful to say if any man,
he doesn't say every man should speak because
God has given gifts to men but he
says, if any man minister let him do
it out of the ability which God gives
us you know we get lots of things
done at this church that we we must
know about I think I told you once
about coming in here in the afternoon, once
three o'clock in the afternoon, and I
hope nobody gets excited about this I pardon
Mr. Carson our treasurer, down on his knees
and the coat off and the sweat blinding
and he was putting in a bit of
a new thought, and I was squinting him
I said you know you'll get no credit
for it but then he sees it looks
up says I'm not doing it for free
any iron made for this place is good
luck, you see we're painters who do painting
sometimes we've got electricians who do the electric
wiring there's lots of bars, we've got a
priestess who does typing yes there's lots of
things to be done you know that's what
we were talking about the master has given
the only man his work he'll do it
in the blob and you want to do
it?
you cannot do it God's given you I
don't know why men have I want
you to get this it's a bad passage
isn't it, but isn't he a great preacher
talking about charity among yourselves talking about hospitality
talking about gifted ministry talking about the responsibility
of children talking about authority speaking of the
talking about this ability to do things for
God he says you know let love and
this hospitality and this ministry and this authority
and this ability let it work in the
assembly of the glory of God lovely little
portion going on to a mighty person next
week I want you to think about it,
verse 12 beloved think it not strange concerning
the fiery trial which is to try you
and we're going into this fiery trial which
is to try you next week I've lost
the hint, what is it 647 please
647 647 oh what fellowship oh what joy
is mine resting in the everlasting arm of
part of in thy shield and with thy
blessing for thy holy name's sake Amen